Long was born to Laurence Long and Pearl Romjue Long near Bartlesville,

Oklahoma on the grounds of the Osage Nation where his father was working at the time. In 1925, his parents brought him to California and they settled in Oroville, Butte County.

Broughton graduated from Berkeley High School, the University of California at Berkeley, and after World War II, the Stanford School of Business. He served in the United States Army Air Force Weather Service with major postings in Denver, Colorado; Chanute Field, Illinois; Marana Air Force Base near Tucson, Arizona; and Hammer Field near Fresno. He served overseas in the Aleutian Islands as a weather observer on Amchitka and Shemya Islands.

On his first furlough in March of 1944, he married his college sweetheart, Helen Nicholson, who continued her teaching career until his discharge from the service and his time at Stanford. Subsequently, they had three children: Philip, Eric, and Marjorie. The family enjoyed camping and outdoor life in general. When his sons became interested in baseball, Broughton managed their teams in the

Western Little League.

Broughton was business manager of San Joaquin County Department of Public Works from 1951 to his retirement in 1981. Both before and after retirement, they traveled extensively to all 50 states and all Canadian provinces, as well as some 65 foreign countries.

Broughton was a member of Stockton High-12, and Oroville Masonic Lodge #103. He also held life memberships in the Oroville Lodge, the Berkeley High School Alumni Association and the UC Berkeley Alumni Association.